What's it like reading a book in it's original language

>>8979944
You don't speak/read a language one hich books are written? What are you, a fucking Martian?

>>8979953
I speak and read one language. Therefore I don't have the experience of reading a book in two different ones, I'm unable to make a comparison. Does that help?

>>8979968
You're fine OP, it was clear in your first post. I can't bear witness because I'm illiterate in the other language I speak (amharic). Also, I don't think there's any translated amharic texts. I wish I was greek like my cousin.

>>8979944
Not that much of a diff desu

>>8979968
fucking Americans

>>8979944
>>8979968
I've read all of Sadegh Hedayat's work that was originally in Farsi (some was in French, I believe, which I do not know--I also did not bother to read the French stuff he translated to Farsi). And I read a short story collection of his plus the blind owl in English.

Very weird experience, his use of borrowed european words, disdain for Iran, and love of europe stood out sometimes. It was also somewhat difficult as I had to consult a dictionary occasionally.

Depends on the translation. Shakespeare, for example, in my language has one recent translation that has been praised a lot, but which I find quite clunky. I read the opening scene of Macbeth, and the rhymes were forced, the rhythm and flow nonexistent. There's an older translation, however, which is far more successful. Very close to the original, in effect and meaning. Basically, the book will be nearly as enjoyable as the original if the translator is capable and the original isn't too heavily connected to its specific language.

>>8979944
EH MUNROE

>>8980428
Seriously, these god damn yanks. I mean one thing is that some hillbillies in the south don't speak a foreign language, but that someone who browses a goddamn literature board doesn't know any foreign languages just shows how ignorant yanks are to foreign cultures.

If you're just generally interested in the ancient world and don't have any preference at all for particular authors etc. Greek would make more sense.

1. There's more classical stuff in Greek to begin with
2. Latin lit is so influenced by Greek lit you need to know Greek to get deeply into Latin anyway
3. There's a lot of really good stuff in Greek, like Xenophon and Plato, that's not very hard to read; of surviving authors for whatever reason there are fewer easy, but great, Latin authors than Greek imo.

As for differences original vs. translation it varies by work, some things don't lost much in translation as far as I can tell, poetry loses a lot.

For Greek poetry and Homer in particular there is absolutely no comparison.

https://youtu.be/qI0mkt6Z3I0

Everything worthwhile has been translated to English

>>8981122
I know a few foreign languages but im not good enough to read in them :(

>>8979944
bump